Walter Jones: ‘I’m ready to move on’

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In typical understated Walter Jones’ fashion, the man believed by many to be the best player in Seattle Seahawks history said farewell to the organization Friday in a press conference at team headquarters.

Dressed in jeans and an untucked shirt, the affable Jones said it simply was time to move on after a year and a half of trying to recover from a pair of knee surgeries.

“I’ve thought about this day many times, but you never think about it until you’re live and you have to say the one thing you don’t want to hear,” Jones said. “But as of yesterday, I’m stepping down from the NFL.

“I had to come to the fact I couldn’t go out and play at a standard I had set for myself.”

That standard was high enough that Jones is a sure-fire Hall of Fame inductee in five years. His number was retired immediately by the Seahawks. Friday was declared Walter Jones Day in the state by Gov. Chris Gregoire.

“I love the game and my family loves the game and I don’t want to be an embarrassment to them,” Jones said. “So I had to be honest with myself. With the many injuries I’ve had, it’s been tough. But I dealt with them the only way I could. And I had to make that decision.

“My career has been fun. It’s been some great memories and I’m going to miss all that. But still and again, you’ve got to be able to go out and play football and I feel like that’s something I couldn’t do, to be able to give it what I needed to be great at my position.”

Jones has never been one to seek attention in his career, but he sat in front of reporters in a relaxed fashion Friday and unleashed some of the underscored humor that always cracked up those who knew him well.

Asked about the 23 sacks he surrendered in 5,703 pass plays over his 12-year career: “I don’t think I could go back and watch all the film and figure out what I did or didn’t do. But I think on those sacks, it was more of the quarterback’s fault.”

On his reputation as a guy who didn’t always know all his teammate’s names: “It was always a joke that I didn’t know a lot of the guys. But my approach was, I knew the guys I needed to know.”

On opponents he most respected: “I respected everybody. As tackles, you don’t ever want to get caught up in that. You have guys like Robbie Tobeck mouthing off against guys he’s not even going against and making it tough for guys like us. We’d be like, ‘Be quiet, man.’ But I respected every guy I ever went up against.”

What’s next for the big man?

“I’m ready to move on to the next chapter of my life,” he said. “I’ve talked to a lot of guys who’ve retired and some say it’s tough and some made adjustments. I haven’t played football for a year and a half, so I went through that already. I’m just ready for the next step. It’s tough, but I think I’m ready.”

He said for now, however, his intent is to take some time off and just relax.

“I’m pretty happy right now,” he said. “I got over the tough part. When you have so many eyes on you on Sunday, as an offensive linemen, you don’t want the spotlight on you. From that standpoint, I’m excited it’s over and I’m ready to move on.”